JEB TROLLS DEMOCRATS -- INADVERTENTLY?

Jeb Bush finally said something Republican primary voters want to hear, though it's not clear he even wanted the public to know:

When asked this week at an exclusive Manhattan gathering about who advises him on U.S.-Israel policy, Jeb Bush surprised many of the 50-plus attendees by naming his brother, former president George W. Bush, as his most influential counselor.

“If you want to know who I listen to for advice, it’s him,” Bush said Tuesday, speaking to a crowd of high-powered financiers at the Metropolitan Club, according to four people present.

The remark came as part of an answer to a question about Bush’s political advisers and their policy views. Bush was pressed for details about who he surrounds himself with and consults as he thinks through his positions, guests said.

The Republicans in the room spoke on the condition of anonymity to divulge information about the proceedings, where confidentiality was insisted upon by the event’s host, GOP mega-donor Paul Singer....

If four people "leaked" this information (to The Washington Post's Robert Costa and Matea Gold), then I have to assume Jeb wanted this out there. But with Jeb you never know.

Jeb needs to make an effort to win the primaries, so he might as well go ahead and say this proudly -- after all, a 2014 Gallup poll showed W with an 88% favorable rating among Republicans.

Republican voters want a candidate who'll say things that please conservatives and make non-conservatives furious. Jeb just did that -- furtively. If he wants to win, he needs to do it more often, and unabashedly. The more a candidate makes us howl, the better that candidate looks to GOP voters.